Nothin' But the Rain
by Child-of-the-Dawn
Summary: Kara Adama finds solace after the loss of her parents. AU in Sine Qua Non. Spoilers up to that. A/R offscreen. SEASON FOUR SPOILERS and ending speculation.


Title: Nothin' But the Rain

Characters: Starbuck (Kara Adama), offscreen Bill/Laura

Summary: Kara Thrace-Adama finds solace in the loss of those who were all the parents she had.

Spoilers: Up to Sine Qua non then speculation from there

-small ref to Daddy's Girl

* * *

Kara Adama stepped out into the enclosed patio of the cabin overlooking a lake the 13th tribe called lake Tahoe, staring at the gray clouds coming over the hills. The lake before her stretched out almost endlessly, reflecting the dull sky as if painted by hand onto the still surface. Beside her, the family cat was snoring softly to herself.

This wasn't supposed to be her home, except for the cat_. _Not really. It was the dream of Laura Roslin and William Adama. She should of come here to visit the old man and his slightly younger old lady. Should of poked fun at how damned whipped the Old Man of Galactica was by little miss Roslin. (It hits her then that it would have been Mrs. Adama, and she cringes inside). She should be getting Will, her son, and setting him in his granddad's lap, watching the twin pairs of blue eyes sparkle at each other in some silent joke.

But she isn't.

"_Galactica, this is S-starbuck"_

She swallowed, but let the memory overtake her. As much as it hurt, she needed it. To remember the good, she needed it.

_She was sobbing as she spoke, as her eyes drifted back to the Raptor Lee was flying. Kara fraking Thrace was sobbing and the whole bloody fleet was listening to it. But this wasn't that time she was near death and kept herself from calling a last goodbye to Lee and his father._

"_Starbuck..." Tigh's voice, so much softer than it had ever been._

"_I..they..they did it. It was them. They saved us all." she sobbed out._

Kara choked back a sob, sitting herself on the back steps and swinging the screen door open wide as she did so. A cold breeze hit her, but she welcomed the eye opening effect of it. Cold was good, it made her think straighter.

"_Wheres the Admiral? And Laura?"_

_Her voice is so dead. "They're gone. Together."_

_Tigh's cry from the other end makes her jump, but she can't quite bring herself to be that sort of devastated. He's distraught because his best friend is dead. She's distraught because, while shes lost her parents who deserved longer alive together, she couldn't help but feel there was never any alternative but for William and Laura to go down together._

_They bring the bodies aboard, blessedly unmarked faces calm in death. They try to put them on seperate gurneys, but their hands were clasped together and none of them had the heart to pull them away. So Tyrol, herself, Lee, Sharon, Karl, Dee, and Tori lift them together. _

_Its only later that Kara cries. They are cleaned up and side by side, hands still clasped. She cant help think that she never got close enough to Laura, never pecked her surrogate father on the cheek like a good daughter. And she cries because she loves them._

She wiped her eyes. She'd never forget that image: Laura Roslin wrapped in Bill Adama's arms, their faces content. Happy.

They'd done what they needed to do, but she'd felt so empty for so long. That last conversation with her old man still haunted her. They hadn't spoken their habitual words, and she'd felt that that moment was when it all went terribly wrong. It was silly, she knew, but it hurt.

"_Sir..." She said, trying to find her voice and failing._

"_Stay safe, Starbuck." He smiles sadly (dead if he came back without her, dead if he stayed.) and cupped her cheek with one worn, calloused hand, "I love you both." His eyes on Lee in silent goodbye. Nothing more._

She closed her eyes, remembering the things she should have done. When she opens her eyes, the lake is discolored from the time her eyes were blocked from sunlight. It looks like the old man's eyes. So she said it, speaks what brought on the trip outside.

"Whaddya hear, pops?"

There is silence, and even though she expected it, something else broke in that second. She turned, deflated, to go inside. Back to Lee and little William, to her happy ending.

_Drip_

She stopped, startled by the feel of something wet on her hand. Starbuck looked up at the sky, laughing madly at the sight before her.

"Fine, fine, I'm bringing in the cat."

It was nothing but the rain.

* * *

3


End file.
